Allentown’s Mayfair festival, which for a decade has struggled with faltering finances, has abruptly broken ties with its executive director and his assistant after May’s 25th annual festival, and canceled a Christian music fest this month that was to have broadened its base to help it weather hard times.

Terry Glennon (center) at cake-cutting ceremony to celebrate Mayfair's 25th year in May

Terry Glennon, who has been at Mayfair’s helm for six annual festivals, is no longer with the organization, said Debra Schur, vice president of Mayfair’s board of directors. Shur said an assistant to Glennon, whom she declined to identify, also has left, but said she “was not at liberty” to give further details.

Schur would not say whether Glennon was fired or left voluntarily, but said “a lot of things led up” to the separation. She referred further questions to board President Mike Hill, who was on vacation. Efforts to reach Hill for comment were unsuccessful.

Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski said he was told the board is looking to restructure and “go in a different direction” with the festival, but was not told details.

Glennon, the festival’s ninth director, did not respond to a telephone messages seeking comment.

No one answered the telephone at Mayfair’s offices Thursday.

Faith Evangelical Free Church of Trexlertown, where the FallOut festival was to be held Sept. 24 with some of the top names in contemporary Christian music, sent an email to its congregation Tuesday, saying the festival was canceled because of “a combination of events … with Mayfair.”

“Their annual event Mayfair Festival of the Arts held over the Memorial Day weekend was not nearly as successful as in the past, and has left them in a poor financial situation,” the e-mail said. “Mayfair has also gone through significant staffing departures over the past four weeks and this coupled with the challenging financial position has led Mayfair to cancel Fallout for this year.”

The five-day, rain-or-shine, Memorial Day weekend festival in Allentown’s Cedar Beach ended with lower attendance than the 50,000 average it had seen in the past five years after a heavy storm closed its opening night early, and it faced competition from the new SteelStacks entertainment complex in South Bethlehem.

But since Glennon took over in 2005, the festival had gone from being $260,000 in debt -- organizers held a news conference in late 2005 to say the festival was unlikely to have a 20th year -- to being $15,000 in debt and anticipating being debt free after this year.

But Pawlowski said that while he didn’t know specifics of Glennon’s departure, he didn’t think the changes were primarily financial.

“They told me that they’re looking to restructure the organization,” Pawlowski said. “My hope is that the board will restructure quickly and move into the direction it wants to run the organization. It’s critical for the city and I want to see it be successful – move to greater heights and greater attendance.”

Glennon, a former project manager for AT&T in Bedminster, N.J., with no professional experience with the arts, was hired three months before the 2006 festival — a year after Mayfair made the controversial decision to put a chain link fence around the festival and began to charge $5-per-person admission.

Mayfair had just lost $200,000 on an outside culinary event, and also had lost its fourth executive director in three years.

Glennon said that at the time, Mayfair was “essentially insolvent,” with so little money that it couldn't even pay its staff. In his first month, he said, the festival missed its payroll for the only time in its history.

Glennon had said to maintain that stability, Mayfair would have to grow and have multiple locations, as it once did, with activities in the city's other parks. Its largest concerts will have to be ticketed, and held at sites other than Cedar Beach.

And he believed Mayfair had to become a multi-event organization, with offerings at other times of the year, perhaps even outside Allentown.

That was the idea behind Mayfair taking over FallOut, which from 1998 to 2006 attracted upward of 4,000 people and some of the biggest names in contemporary Christian music to Faith Evangelical Free Church but had not been held in the past four years.

Glennon said Mayfair's sponsors initially were skeptical about FallOut, but he assured them it wasn’t likely to lose money and would bring precisely the incremental growth Mayfair seeks.

Christian fest? Seriously? I don't think I could imagine any worse punishment than having to attend.

Posted By: Penn State | Sep 8, 2011 11:29:56 PM

Fallout would have been amazing! Such a shame that this organization had to ruin it...

Posted By: Pete | Sep 8, 2011 11:42:08 PM

Church and state.I suspect former Delaware senate candidate Christine O'Donnell"s(aka Sabrina) new book still has no knowledge of such things. That Constitution thingy is sooo complicated. Meanwhile,locally,failure is a success. Hooray and here's hoping Mayfair finds out what they are supposed to be without any trace of any religion.

Posted By: mac | Sep 9, 2011 12:19:52 AM

Im sure if you made Mayfair free again that your attendance would increase.

Posted By: student | Sep 9, 2011 3:41:55 AM

Fallout would have been awesome, just as it was back when they had it last, was planning on spending the day there with our family. I guess most of you doubters have never heard of the creation festival or the uprise festival, Google em, see how successful they are, being that most Christians don't enjoy your secular nonsense on the radio, we do pay upwards of $30 or more a ticket to see a christian concert, it's about values and family, that's what brings people to a christian event...too bad, so sad for all of you that you can't see that

Posted By: Kim | Sep 9, 2011 8:54:28 AM

"Want Freedom Fries with that?"

Posted By: west_ender | Sep 9, 2011 8:58:27 AM

Gee, we should all be fired for turning around a company with $250,000 in debt into a solvent proposition in 6 years. It sounds like Mayfair, who went through 3 directors in 4 years prior to Glennon's arrival, finally had a good formula for success. Juxtapose this against all the new arrivals in the area, and I think we may have seen the last of the Mayfair festival.

Posted By: Tim Thompson | Sep 9, 2011 9:21:54 AM

I do not go to mayfair and havent in years but definitely would have went to the fallout festival and for the non-believers there are more people than you think that believe in the christian faith. and we have awesome concerts where we actually feel the message. and no freedom fries i like salt on my fries. thanks

Posted By: Leanne | Sep 9, 2011 10:02:32 AM

Mayfair should go back to free admission and continue with a variety of entertainment for family's, teens, seniors and all. When the economy is suffering people are more apt to spend money at an event that has free admission and caters to all ages.

Posted By: JAE | Sep 9, 2011 10:36:11 AM

I was also looking forward to FallOut and have missed it the past 5 years. It's a shame that it won't happen. I saw Skillet for the first time there years ago!

Posted By: HometownBethlehem | Sep 9, 2011 11:05:00 AM

I love the comments from the religious folks... so sad people believe such nonsense. Wake up folks, think for yourselves a little using that grey matter in your head.

Posted By: Penn State | Sep 9, 2011 11:48:25 AM

Mayor No Neck was informed the organization wanted to 'go in a different direction.'

Mayfair's issues illustrate the major problem with an impending entertainment-based local economy.

An oversaturation point - in direct proportion to what's left of sparse disposable income - within an existing failure of a service-based economy in which people, who've known little else, now feel justified to support a return to free admission.

Apathy for a growing service-based economy occurred in the early 90's. Since then, this area has suffered socially, economically and politically. Once free admission occurs we return to the old problems experienced in '05 and prior, which is why some still won't return to the festival or think to attend another offering.

Ultimately Mayfair suffers from the same woes as Musikfest. Bigger is not always better. Both of these festivals were superior in their earlier days because they were smaller and more easily absorbed by visitors in a far more personable setting. Visitors also felt as though they were a part of the event and not raked over the coals financially. That ended with the mass, politically correct corporate productions both events offer today.

Posted By: Allentonian | Sep 9, 2011 12:07:55 PM

I enjoyed going to Mayfair the last 3 years. They finally had a festival worth going to. If this is the way they treat their employees, they have seen the last of me

Posted By: Dave Ilgenfritz | Sep 9, 2011 1:12:15 PM

Blame the fence...blame the fence!!

Posted By: Dwag | Sep 9, 2011 2:45:30 PM

Explain to me again why being dead-set against a "faithfest" proves that you're "tolerant." It's not like the city would be forcing people to go there.

Posted By: Don S. | Sep 9, 2011 3:45:32 PM

Dave Ilgenfritz...I totally agree! Glennon brought the organization out of $250K in debt and then they fire him!!! Shame on Mayfair...you will never see me at another festival! Looks like this organization is going doing the tubes fast....you can obviously blame the Board for that.

Posted By: Pete | Sep 9, 2011 4:40:32 PM

Penn State what do you believe in? What morals do you kids have now days that you have no respect for anyone including yourselves. I do think for myself that's why GOD gave us free will. Before you criticize maybe have some knowledge of what you are talking about first.

Posted By: Leanne | Sep 9, 2011 4:57:05 PM

Just to clarify....I know the "assistant" personally and the "assistant" quit because of the dysfunctionally of the Board and what was done to Glennon.

Posted By: Jenn | Sep 9, 2011 5:15:05 PM

My wife and I have gone to the Arts Fest. We even bought a fairly expensive original work from an artist one year.

But the venue was crappy and muddy. More a craft fair than an arts festival.

I would stop going anymore if I found I was subsidizing some religious events outside of town.

The art should be moved into the Fairgrounds pavilion with a juried show, daily auctions that the Fest could get piece of and maybe a show of some of the great art in the homes of the Lehigh Valley. I might loan my Matisse lithographs for such an event. (But not if its subsidizing religion.)

Posted By: Pat | Sep 9, 2011 6:53:17 PM

1 local commercial radio station program director told me off the record they couldn't even get any reply' from Glennon or his assisant to be part of Mayfair 2011 !!

Overview of how the $250,000 debt was made up very very easy you eliminate your biggest stage its not rocket science people he didn't perform some herculean task like some may think !!

Mayfair regressed and not progressed under Glennon watch !!

Posted By: Sam Younes | Sep 9, 2011 7:00:04 PM

Oh look..... It crazy sam younes making up nonsense again... No wonder you and your so called "band" have no credit... Maybe one day you'll learn to tell the truth.

Posted By: Pete | Sep 9, 2011 10:29:09 PM

@ Pete I stand by statement and unlike you I put my name on it !!

Posted By: Sam Younes | Sep 10, 2011 7:01:34 AM

After 2007 when Mayfair made the main stage all inclusive and things did not go as planned they scrapped the main stage thus saving thousands of dollars in production costs a year and if you times that by 4 years and I would be willing to bet that total makes up the majority of their debt...

The last several years Mayfair did not have a working relationship with Hawk 99, Cat Country or WZZO again that is fact!! So you can call me name' or whatever you please but i'm man enough to put my name on what I write unlike you !!

Posted By: Sam Younes | Sep 10, 2011 7:16:49 AM

I can tell your first hand the Glennon is the closest thing to a crook I've ever met. His assistant on the other hand is/was very nice and very honest. The only mistake Mayfair made was letting Terry line his pockets at their expense.

Yes, the board is older and probably not as hands-on as they should be but our company tried to help Mayfair and because there was nothing in it for Terry it didn't work out.

Mayfair needs to hire someone who doesn't need a big salary but can generate results and make customers & sponsors happy. I wish Terry's assistant all the best. Good people are hard to find.

Posted By: Conductor | Sep 11, 2011 3:15:12 PM

Sam did you work there?!?!? Because call me crazy, but if you didn't work there how can you say statement's like that and claim that they are true??? I mean it sounds like you have all the insider information....and judging by your earlier comments you obviously have some issues with the Mayfair....so Im going to have to side with Pete on this one and go with the fact that you seem to be a disgruntled person that had a run in with the festival and just didn't get your way.....which means what your saying has little credit.....but correct me if Im wrong......

Posted By: Jenn | Sep 12, 2011 11:53:01 AM

To "Conductor" - I have worked with both Terry and his assistant...they were an absolute joy and I cannot guarantee that I will be sponsoring this festival again with this catastrophic mistake that the Mayfair Board made. Terry is the furtherest thing from a crook...he had nothing but good intentions at heart when making decisions about that festival. I feel sorry for you that you could not see that...but that's what happens when you let your personal emotions make decision that should have be business related only. I am truly saddened by this immeasurable loss for this organization and even more troubled by the fact that the so called Board could not even tell the truth about what happened to Glennon in this article. He and the assistant are better off without the organization...I wouldn't want to work for a group of cowards....would you "Conductor"???

Posted By: Trobuled | Sep 12, 2011 12:02:04 PM

Oh yes, Glennon surely was a crook. He paid off almost $250,000 of the debt he inherited when he took over as Executive Director, held 6 successful festivals and managed to keep the organization out of insolvency during that time. I wonder where he got all that money to “line his pockets”?? Provide some facts before making such nasty allegations “Conductor”!

Sam Younes is wrong. In 2007 Mayfair, for the first and only time in their history, tried adding a new stage (I believe it was called the Odyssey stage) to hold ticketed concerts in an attempt to broaden their programming and revenue. It didn’t work so they did away with the idea. Glennon never “scrapped the main stage” (Cabaret). Mayfair always had four stages.

Regarding Glennon’s so called “big salary”, as a non-profit organization, Glennon’s salary had to be negotiated and approved by the Mayfair Board. Given the progress that Mayfair has made over the past five years, going from $250,000 in debt to being almost debt free, I have a feeling Glennon earned what he made. From reading what “Conductor” wrote, I would like to ask, how do you know how much Glennon made unless by chance you are a Mayfair Board member??

I know firsthand that Glennon didn’t put up with nonsense nor did he suffer any fools. One can’t do either when facing financial crisis. You are seeing some of both in the above comments.

Posted By: Eileen | Sep 12, 2011 4:26:35 PM

@ Jenn your correct I have a lot of insider info and then some because maybe just maybe we want what's best for the City of Allentown and not whats best for Terry Glennon !!

@ Eileen please check your facts your so wrong the Cabaret Stage and the Main Stage were 2 seperate entities.. Not only did they do away with the idea they did away with the whole stage and replaced it with Sommerfest another great idea that went bust !!

A little history lesson Sugarland in 2005 performed on the Main Stage at Mayfair to an audience of over 3,000 people and not the Cabaret stage as you so proudly boast again 2 seperate stage' !!

Glennon salary is public information as is Jeff Parks at Musikfest honestly are you another one that just likes to here herself talk or what there both non profits that have to disclose that type info...

Posted By: Sam Younes | Sep 12, 2011 8:45:49 PM

The May Fair was circling the drain when Terry Glennon took the reins. It was hemorrhaging and in need of life support. Some tough choices needed to be made and Glennon made those choices and breathed life back into the May Fair. Now that it’s been turned around both financially and entertainment-wise, it’s practically criminal to oust Glennon. What’s that saying – “never bite the hand that feeds you” ? I suspect we’ll soon hear a big flushing sound as the May Fair again begins to head down the toilet.
Raymond Pursik,
p.s.: Dolphins dude!

Posted By: Ray Pursik | Sep 14, 2011 10:32:43 AM

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JOHN J. MOSER has been around long enough to have seen the original Ramones in a small club in New Jersey, U2 from the fourth row of a theater and Bob Dylan's born-again tours. But he also has the number for All-American Rejects' Nick Wheeler on his cell phone, wrote the first story ever done on Jack's Mannequin and hung out in Wiz Khalifa's hotel room.

OTHER CONTRIBUTORS

JODI DUCKETT: As The Morning Call's assistant features editor responsible for entertainment, she spends a lot of time surveying the music landscape and sizing up the Valley's festivals and club scene. She's no expert, but enjoys it all — especially artists who resonated in her younger years, such as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Tracy Chapman, Santana and Joni Mitchell.

KATHY LAUER-WILLIAMS enjoys all types of music, from roots rock and folk to classical and opera. Music has been a constant backdrop to her life since she first sat on the steps listening to her mother’s Broadway LPs when she was 2. Since becoming a mother herself, she has become well-versed on the growing genre of kindie rock and, with her son in tow, can boast she has seen a majority of the current kid’s performers from Dan Zanes to They Might Be Giants.

STEPHANIE SIGAFOOS: A Jersey native raised in Northeast PA, she was reared in a house littered with 8-tracks, 45s and cassette tapes of The Beatles, Elvis, Meatloaf and Billy Joel. She also grew up on the sounds of Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw and can be found traversing the countryside in search of the sounds of a steel guitar. A fan of today's 'new country,' she digs mainstream/country-pop crossovers like Lady Antebellum and Sugarland and other artists that illustrate the genre's diversity.